Forensic investigators have been dispatched to conduct a thorough assessment of all the possible causes of a head-on collision that claimed the lives of five people at Pongola in northern Kwazulu-Natal on Saturday night‚ the province’s department of transport‚ community safety and liaison says.
A spokesman for the department‚ Kwanele Ncalane‚ said according a preliminary report by the department’s Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI)‚ a BMW collided head–on with a breakdown truck on the N2‚ in Mlogo‚ outside Pongolo.
All five occupants inside the BMW were killed when it caught fire while two other occupants from the breakdown vehicle sustained minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
In the wake of the accident‚ KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Transport‚ Community Safety and Liaison‚ Willies Mchunu on Sunday urged motorists to be extra cautious on the province’s roads.
He said a decrease in road crashes and fatalities this festive season could only be achieved if all road users took the issue of safety and compliance seriously.
“This is yet another painful accident where five people have been killed in such a gruesome manner. We suspect strongly that one of the drivers committed a serious violation which resulted in this tragedy. Police are investigating allegations of excessive speeding‚ drinking and driving and other violations‚” Mchunu added.
Mchunu last week launched a provincial safety plan for the festive season‚ announcing that more than 26‚000 personnel from various enforcement structures would be deployed to proactively apply maximum law enforcement in the province.
“Since the launch‚ a lot of progress is being made every day. A driver was arrested in Durban south ferrying 38 passengers in a minibus taxi‚ which is certified to carry only 16 passengers. The fact that the driver was denied bail shows the seriousness in which our courts are taking traffic violations.
“As part of our integrated law enforcement operations‚ in uMhlathuze alone‚ this weekend 24 people were arrested for drinking and driving. We appeal to all road users to be extra cautious on the road‚” Mchunu added.
Five killed in accident near Pongola
Forensic investigators have been dispatched to conduct a thorough assessment of all the possible causes of a head-on collision that claimed the lives of five people at Pongola in northern Kwazulu-Natal on Saturday night‚ the province’s department of transport‚ community safety and liaison says.
A spokesman for the department‚ Kwanele Ncalane‚ said according a preliminary report by the department’s Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI)‚ a BMW collided head–on with a breakdown truck on the N2‚ in Mlogo‚ outside Pongolo.
All five occupants inside the BMW were killed when it caught fire while two other occupants from the breakdown vehicle sustained minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
In the wake of the accident‚ KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Transport‚ Community Safety and Liaison‚ Willies Mchunu on Sunday urged motorists to be extra cautious on the province’s roads.
He said a decrease in road crashes and fatalities this festive season could only be achieved if all road users took the issue of safety and compliance seriously.
“This is yet another painful accident where five people have been killed in such a gruesome manner. We suspect strongly that one of the drivers committed a serious violation which resulted in this tragedy. Police are investigating allegations of excessive speeding‚ drinking and driving and other violations‚” Mchunu added.
Mchunu last week launched a provincial safety plan for the festive season‚ announcing that more than 26‚000 personnel from various enforcement structures would be deployed to proactively apply maximum law enforcement in the province.
“Since the launch‚ a lot of progress is being made every day. A driver was arrested in Durban south ferrying 38 passengers in a minibus taxi‚ which is certified to carry only 16 passengers. The fact that the driver was denied bail shows the seriousness in which our courts are taking traffic violations.
“As part of our integrated law enforcement operations‚ in uMhlathuze alone‚ this weekend 24 people were arrested for drinking and driving. We appeal to all road users to be extra cautious on the road‚” Mchunu added.
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